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McConnell crushes Bevin; Grimes cruises to win

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell wins the Republican primary to return to the senate and turns his attention towards the general election and Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. (Video by Sam Upshaw Jr., The Courier-Journal.)

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes cruised to victories in Tuesday's primary elections, setting up a general election tilt that some predict will cost more than $100 million.

The Associated Press called the races for McConnell and Grimes just moments after the polls closed in the western half of the state at 7 p.m. EDT.

"We gave the people of Kentucky a choice for the first time in 30 years," Bevin said after watching reports that CNN also had called the race for McConnell.

In their acceptance speeches, both Grimes and McConnell went on the offensive and signaled what the November race will look like.

McConnell continued to attack President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nev., trying to dirty Grimes with their negative impressions in the state.

"My opponent is in the race because Barack Obama and Harry Reid want her in the race," McConnell thundered.

Grimes, for her part, accused McConnell of causing gridlock in Washington and on at least two occasions called the 73-year-old Republican the "senior senator."

"We will take the fight to Mitch McConnell and hold him accountable for 30 years of failed leadership," she said.

Three hours before the first polls closed, Kentuckians for Strong Leadership, a political action group that makes independent expenditures on McConnell's behalf, said it would spend $575,000 to attack Grimes in a television ad. It said the ad would air on broadcast and cable television stations statewide during the next 13 days, starting this morning.

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell supporter Sandy Hart waits for results to come in at the poles at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel where McConnell hopes to celebrate winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Jim Stansbury, center, and others wait for results to come in at the poles at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel where Mitch McConnell hopes to celebrate winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Damon Thayer, Republican Floor Leader for the Kentucky State Senate is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel where Mitch McConnell is hoping to celebrate after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Mitch McConnell is seen speaking at the Louisville Marriott East Hotel after winning the U.S. Senate Republican primary. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ Aaron Borton, Special to the CJ)

Holly Fraser, age 15, founder of Youth for Bevin, greets Matt Bevin during the election watch party. Fraser and youth students campaigned for Bevin for five days traveling to seven states. May 20, 2014 (Photo: Amber Sigman/Special to The CJ)

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The ad attempts to tie Grimes to Hollywood actors who often support liberal candidates and to first lady Michelle Obama, the wife of Obama, who has a 29 percent favorability rating in Kentucky, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll.

"Grimes has been less than forthcoming about her positions on issues, but her supporters have been quite clear about why they want her in office," said Scott Jennings, a former McConnell aide who is the spokesman for the group. "Her liberal supporters — from Michelle Obama to the biggest left wingers in Hollywood — tell us that Grimes winning this election is 'critical' to pushing President Obama's agenda in the Senate."

McConnell spent the entire primary season criticizing the president for a range of topics from the Affordable Care Act to what McConnell has repeatedly characterized as a "war on coal" for policies that sometimes favor the environment over cheap energy.

Grimes has tried to distance herself from Obama, saying she disagrees with his coal policy and, in the waning days of the primary election, she warned Obama that she would not stand by silently as the federal Environmental Protection Agency imposes tougher environmental standards on coal-fired power plants.

Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes speaks after winning the Democratic primary. She will face incumbent Mitch McConnell. May 20, 2014
Jonathan Palmer, special to The Courier-Journal

She went even further in her speech Tuesday, saying "I don't agree with the president's war on coal."

McConnell, often accused of being overly partisan, turned the table on Grimes, saying that "she's a political partisan who has been practicing partisan politics since she learned to talk."

Grimes paraphrased McConnell's statement in which he said making Obama a one-term president was his primary goal, saying, "It is my number one priority to make sure Mitch McConnell doesn't see another term."

McConnell easily won the primary despite the fact that Bevin, who was supported by tea party organizations, raised and spent $3 million attacking him. The Bevin campaign argued that McConnell is not a true conservative because he has cut deals with the Obama administration to end some of the Bush era tax cuts and to avoid a debt-ceiling default.

Polls consistently showed Bevin trailing McConnell, a five-term senator, by double digits, with one in February showing Bevin behind by 42 percentage points. But in recent weeks, polling showed him edging closer but still trailing badly. A Bluegrass Poll last week — conducted for The Courier-Journal, Lexington Herald-Leader, WHAS-TV and WKYT-TV — showed Bevin behind McConnell by 20 percentage points.

Throughout the campaign, Bevin refused to say if he would support McConnell in the general election. In a somewhat defiant concession speech, he urged his backers to support the "Republican platform" while stopping short of endorsing McConnell.

Afterward, he said that he would back McConnell. "I intend to support every Republican over every Democrat in this state," he said.

Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky, said Bevin fell short because McConnell has shifted to the right over the years, making a flank attack almost impossible. Furthermore, Voss said, Bevin didn't handle a series of minor scandals very well.